How much does your MA school's rank matter for admission into top PhD programs?

[Pacifist101]

Hi everyone,

I will be switching from the field in which I did my undergrad to something very different for grad school. I will apply for master's programs this year, and I am currently making my list of schools. My ultimate goal is a PhD and, hopefully, academia. Based on what I've seen, virtually all professors at decent schools got their degrees from top 10 grad programs in the field. So, if I want to get a job in academia, I need to aim pretty high for my PhD training. Having that in mind, how much weight should I give to ranks of MA programs I am looking at? I know that it's important to find a good fit and do my best wherever I go. However, there are not that many funded MA programs that have research in my area of interest, with some programs ranked below top 100. So, my question is: how low is too low in terms of the potential MA program's rank? How much does this rank affect PhD admissions chances? I know that there are many factors in the admissions process, and I'm just wondering where the rank of your school stands in there and if going to a little known school could affect my career later on?

[fuzzylogician]

Lots of students in strong PhD programs come from all over in terms of their BAs and MAs. Rank isn't necessarily a determining factor. It's more that strong programs will also have more/stronger faculty and often more resources, hence there's a correlation. 

14 hours ago, InternationalCatLover said:

So, my question is: how low is too low in terms of the potential MA program's rank? 

No one can give you a number. 

But what you want in an MA program is strong training and opportunities. You will need three strong LORs, probably at least two from your MA program, if you can manage it. You want the opportunity to generate a strong writing sample. And you want to be able to establish some kind of research trajectory that you can discuss in your SOP. If you get to present some work, that's a plus. It's useful if you attend a school that has a history of placing students in good PhD programs. That's something you can ask about; and if you know what your potential PhD targets are, you can spend some time on the People pages of those programs to see where the current students there got their prior education. Past behavior is one of the best predictors of future behavior: an MA program that's done well placing their students in good programs in the past will probably continue to do so in the future. 

[Pacifist101]

Thanks for your input, fuzzylogician! I have spent some time looking at students' profiles and I expected to see more diversity in terms of their educational experience prior to starting their PhDs. Most of them got their MAs and BAs at top schools, which made me wonder if going to a lesser known school for a funded master's may hinder me later in my career.

[fuzzylogician]

I suppose it may depend on the field, then. In mine, people come from all over. You may get better answers if you share your intended field. 

[Pacifist101]

I guess that's true because my current field has much more variety when it comes to academic background. The field I am switching to is history.

[waltzforzizi]

I asked the professor I want to work with in the future because I'm like 75% sure I won't get into to their Ph.D. atm. They are the creme de la creme in Anthropology and they stated it doesn't matter what the degree actually has spelled out: an applied masters degree vs a thesis degree. 

I think you should just ask if you are very worried  

[ClassicsCandidate]

I've been in contact with some professors in the programs I'm applying to, and I've noticed a lot of the people in Classics/Archaeology/Ancient History also come from top programs, but when I look at PhD students at the programs I'm interested in for that degree, there are a few from smaller or "lesser known" institutions. So, I think it's possible! It may be different from school to school and the departments. I'm beginning to narrow my search down now that I know which programs look good and have knocked a few top-level programs off my list because none of the professors specialize in what I would like to do with my dissertation. I don't think you should lose faith - if you do well in your MA and have relevant research - I think it won't be too hard to get into top institutions!